Slava Zayats, PhD

Slava Zayats has nearly 20 years of experience as an expert economist specializing in antitrust matters that range from mergers and acquisitions to disputes and litigations, working on behalf of private clients as well as federal and state antitrust agencies. He has a successful track record of assisting clients through all stages of merger review, including litigated mergers. Slava excels at assessing competitive effects in proposed transactions and developing efficient and cost-effective strategies to address and resolve regulatory concerns promptly and with fewer obstacles. In the area of legal disputes and litigations, Slava has provided both written and oral expert testimony. He delivers principled, evidence-based analyses that stand up to scrutiny.

Slava’s expert work spans many industries, including healthcare, telecommunications, smartphones, entertainment, commercial brokerage services, retail, crude oil, steelmaking, and airlines. In the healthcare industry in particular, Slava has extensive experience analyzing provider and health insurer market power and competitive effects, advising private clients as well as government agencies.

Slava is a member of the firm’s Executive Committee and served as Practice Chair of the Antitrust and Competition Practice from 2017 through 2023, a time of exceptional growth in antitrust work at Bates White. In these roles, he has helped guide the growth and development of the antitrust practice and firm, particularly in the areas of client service delivery and project management mentorship.

PhD, Economics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

BA, Economics, Belarus State Economic University

Litigation and disputes

• Testified on behalf of a major health insurer in an arbitration between the insurer and a large hospital system regarding 2024–2028 contractual rates for hospital services. Submitted two expert reports and provided deposition as well as live testimony at the hearing on the issues of hospital market power and hospital price comparisons. The panel ruled in favor of Bates White’s client in July 2025.

• On behalf of the Department of Justice (DOJ), providing economic analysis of market definition, market power, and competitive effects of allegedly anticompetitive conduct by a major high-tech company. Work has been ongoing since 2022.

• On behalf of the defendant and the intervenor in 21st Century Oncology v. State of Florida and Dr. Michael Katin (US District Court for the Northern District of Florida), supported the expert’s analysis regarding an economic basis for state policies, such as temporarily suspending non-compete enforceability, to prevent or ameliorate high concentration in physician services markets. The court denied the preliminary injunction, allowing the law to stand; the case subsequently settled.
• On behalf of health insurer Anthem, led the team supporting expert testimony in a case concerning Anthem’s proposed $54 billion merger with Cigna.

Mergers and acquisitions

• On behalf of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., the third largest US insurance brokerage company, assessed competitive effects from its $13.5 billion acquisition of AssuredPartners. The transaction closed in August 2025 without conditions.
• On behalf of U.S. Steel, assessed competitive effects from several potential acquisition scenarios. Following the announcement of Nippon Steel Corporation’s acquisition of U.S. Steel for $14.9 billion, led a Bates White team through all stages of antitrust review by the DOJ, from initial voluntary responses, to a Second Request, and ultimately Second Request compliance. Nippon completed its acquisition of U.S. Steel in June 2025.
• Provided economic analysis to NFP Corp. in its $13 billion sale to Aon and assisted with submissions to DOJ. The matter concluded without a Second Request and was consummated in April 2024.
• Provided economic analysis to Transdev in its acquisition of First Transit. The deal closed in March 2023 without conditions.
• Provided economic analysis to Regal Rexnord Corporation in its acquisition of Altra Industrial Motion Corp. The deal closed in March 2023 without conditions.
• Provided economic analysis to MGM in its acquisition of the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. The deal closed in 2022 without conditions.
• On behalf of Willis Towers Watson (WTW), assisted at all stages of merger review in connection with the $30 billion proposed merger between Aon and WTW,  including preliminary antitrust risk assessment, Hart-Scott-Rodino–related submissions, and responses to the DOJ's second request to multiple advocacy submissions and presentations to the DOJ and the Canadian Competition Bureau.
• Led the team that assisted the Department of Justice in evaluating the potential competitive effects of Sinclair Broadcast Group’s proposed acquisition of Tribune Media.
• On behalf of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center (WFBMC), assessed likely competitive effects of its proposed acquisition of High Point Regional Health.
• On behalf of Humana in connection with its proposed merger with Aetna, co-led a Bates White team that provided support with responses to DOJ’s second request, analyzed likely competitive effects and barriers to entry and exit in the sale of Medicare Advantage products, and analyzed likely competitive effects in the sale of individual health insurance on public exchanges. 

Other regulatory

• On behalf of Highmark, Inc., provided empirical analyses of recent changes in health insurer competition in western Pennsylvania and the cost and quality performance of the Allegheny Health Network, owned by Highmark.
• Served as a consulting expert to the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission (HPC), an agency created in 2012 to increase value and access in the delivery of healthcare.